


Muddle Along

by crookedmen



Category: Saw (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 14:02:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19064152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedmen/pseuds/crookedmen
Summary: a normal AU where everyone lives in the same block of flats and only pisses each other off minimally





	Muddle Along

day one

It was a strange combination; how does one mix a messy style with a neat one? Surely the mess would spill over? Surely either someone works way too hard to keep things neat, or the mess conquers, and there is no way to achieve peaceful harmony?

Somehow, Lawrence and Adam had made it work in their relationship, and they were determined to make it work in their new apartment, too.

Their new landlord greeted them curtly. Neither Lawrence nor Adam could tell if he was short or merely permanently stooped over. ‘’You can call me John.’’

‘’Nice to meet you properly, John,’’ Adam offered. Lawrence always advised that he handle the talking, and Adam never listened, and it was infuriating because Adam was so much more natural and _better_ at chatting than Lawrence was. ‘’I’m sure we’ll be no trouble for you.’’

‘’No, you had better not be,’’ John wheezed out. His voice was dry and strained. ‘’No pets, no loud music and don’t test me. I don’t play games.’’

‘’We can assure you we will be fine tenants,’’ said Lawrence stiffly. Adam squeezed his hand.

The flat was small and liveable, with a view of their beloved drab city and the sky stretching over it. It could be described with a large degree of optimism as ‘shabby chic’; some of the pipework was exposed and there was still some strange graffiti from the previous tenants. Adam laughed at the heart drawn by the toilet and Lawrence squinted at the rather large X on the kitchen wall. Lawrence began to unpack his essentials- coffee and accompanying mugs, laptop and stress ball- while Adam immediately claimed the spare bedroom as his darkroom.

A gentle knock at the door gave both men a rush of silly happiness. Their first visitor! She was slight, with hair that floated around her head seemingly without direction, and she wore a very genuine smile. She extended her hand, clearly not concerned that dozens of fading scars were visible along her arm.

‘’Hi, I’m your neighbour. I’m in 102. You just moved in today, right? I heard you talking to John.’’

‘’Yes,’’ said Lawrence wryly. ‘’Lovely old Mr Kramer.’’

‘’He’s nice really- very good in a crisis. He’s helped me plenty of times. Name’s Amanda.’’

‘’Nice to meet you. I’m Adam.’’

‘’Lawrence.’’

Both men shook her hand and invited her in.

‘’I mean, this is probably going to look like us asking you to help us unpack, which is not-‘’

‘’Lawrence, don’t worry. I’m happy to give you a hand. I wasn’t doing anything anyway. My girlfriend’s at work right now.’’

‘’Oh, you have a girlfriend?’’ asked Adam. It was always nice to meet another gay couple.

‘’Yes! Her name’s Lynn. She works at the local hospital. She’s ever so good but its very long hours, and I miss her.’’

‘’No way, Lawrence works at the hospital too!’’

A bit more to and fro revealed that while Lawrence had never met Ms Denlon, he had heard of her expertise and was delighted to hear he would be meeting her soon, taking the opportunity to invite his new neighbours over for dinner, schedule permitting.

‘’It’s a large hospital, as I’m sure you’re aware,’’ Lawrence mused, passing Amanda a mug of coffee. ‘’Mostly you just live in your own department. I’m hardly aware of what they’re doing outside of the oncology bubble.’’

‘’Lynn comes home with some real horror stories sometimes. Makes you grateful to be alive, right?’’

‘’Right,’’ enthused Adam. He could tell that he and Amanda were going to get along. They already had so much in common.

‘’So, are you friendly with any of the other flats here?’’ said Lawrence.

‘’Well… ‘friendly’ would be a stretch with some of them. But we’d all say hello if we crossed paths in the street, you know? Mr Easton upstairs in 106 is very sweet. He’s always trying to get me to call him William, but he just seems so businessman-like that I feel awkward. I think he runs some sort of non-profit. Does a lot of campaigning for free healthcare.’’

‘’Another medical man…’’ said Adam, fiddling with the zoom on his camera absent-mindedly. He was always trying to take candid photographs of Lawrence, but his lack of subtlety regularly let him down. He had managed a few good ones, though. And his boyfriend was none the wiser.

‘’Anyone we should watch out for?’’ asked Lawrence, more to the point.

Amanda gave this a few seconds of consideration. ‘’No one’s a piece of work, but Mark is definitely the least friendly. He’s like the opposite of Mr Easton, in that he hates being called by his first name, which just makes me do it more. He’s got a grudge against the world, and everyone in it. Also, this is probably just plain gossip, but he’s always pouting? It’s pretty strange.’’

Adam laughed. ‘’I’m gonna have to see that in action.’’

‘’You could snap a photo of it and get him a modelling job,’’ Amanda replied.

. . .

chinese

It had been so lovely to meet their neighbour and have such a nice chat, Lawrence and Adam both agreed. We should get a takeaway for dinner, they also agreed. Lawrence should be the one to get it, they did not agree. Unfortunately, he was forced by Adam very sweetly begging until his hopeless boyfriend gave in and set off in the pouring rain in search of the best local Chinese.

Lawrence had almost made it back, the bag of delicious-smelling food from a man named Mr Wan tucked under his arm, when he bumped into a large rock that was blocking the corridor. The rock groaned and muttered something, which was how Lawrence realised it wasn’t a rock and in fact was a broad man, looking grumpy and making no attempt to move out of the way.

‘’Oh, I do apologise. I wasn’t looking where I was going,’’ said Lawrence, gesturing to his wet hair. ‘’Was just trying to run home as quickly as possible.’’

‘’Mmm,’’ grunted the ro- the man. ‘’And who are you, please?’’

His voice was very deep and rough, and seemed to have a pout built-in, and that is how Lawrence deduced who he was speaking to. Looking closer, he did indeed see that the man had a very… noticeable set of lips. He suppressed a giggle.

‘’Uhh, I’m Lawrence. Just moved into 101. Nice to meet you.’’

‘’Hmm. Mark Hoffman.’’

‘’Which flat are you in?’'

‘’Four.’'

The conversation ground to a halt. Lawrence’s forced smile, which was all the more forced because he had to be careful not to break into laughter, was getting far too strained for his liking. He quickly apologised yet again and squeezed past while Mark watched him struggle.

He made it back and leant against the kitchen door, laughing into his hand.

‘’What’s up with you?’’ asked Adam, his boyfriend’s giddiness already beginning to infect him.

‘’He…’’ Lawrence took several deep breaths to compose himself, ‘’I met Mark.’’

The pair stared at each other, both shouted ‘’pout!’’ at the same time, and laughed so hard they cried.

. . .

tradition

‘’Hey, Mr Easton,’’ said Amanda, waving genially. William returned an embarrassed smile. They performed the same ritual every day.

‘’Please, how many times?’’

‘’I know, I know. Hey, William.’’

‘’Hey, Amanda. How are you holding up?’’

‘’Not too bad. I miss Lynn, though. That can drive me a bit mad sometimes.’’

‘’Well, you know you can always come to mine. My sister is on some trip for a story at the moment, so I’ve had no visitors. It’d be nice to have a bit of company.’’

‘’Yeah, that’d be cool. Thanks, William. You’re very nice.’’

‘’I’m not. I’m just trying to do the right thing. And you seem like such a nice young lady.’’

He shook his briefcase as to say _got to run, sorry,_ and off he went. Amanda enjoyed their small chat. She never went to his, but always appreciated the sentiment.

. . .

happy returns

Adam didn’t meet Mark until a few days after his other half, on account of both men preferring to live like hermits. Once they had met, Adam discovered a new hobby: forcing Mark into a conversation every time they crossed paths. One such joyous occasion took place on a mild Tuesday, Adam’s need for a smoke having driven him outside.

Adam was puffing away on his third cig in an alleyway when Mark marched past towards the bus stop, not quite fast enough to avoid Adam’s quick eyes.

‘’Oh!’’ said Adam, his face lighting up despite Mark’s gloomy aura. ‘’Mark! How are you?’’

Mark stopped and turned toward the alley, wincing. Adam absolutely stank of tobacco.

‘’I’m well, thank you,’’ he replied, his voice a fraction lighter than usual.

‘’What have you got there?’’ Adam nodded to the box Hoffman was carrying protectively against his chest. It was glowing in white wrapping paper with pretty red swirls. Taped to it was a small envelope. Mark glanced down instinctively and, to Adam’s delight, smiled.

‘’It’s my sister’s birthday. She’s just had a breakup and thinks I’ve forgotten, so I’m going to surprise her.’’

Adam grinned and Mark blinked, both surprised at the amount of information just disclosed. ‘’That’s so sweet, man. You’re a good brother. What did you get her?’’

Mark’s face softened. ‘’A rape alarm, a hammer and some extra locks.’’

Adam’s smile faltered. Perhaps not so sweet, after all. ‘’Well… I hope she likes them. Very- very thoughtful. Take care, man.’’

. . .

keep things brief

They met in the entrance to the apartment block, as their schedules often allowed them to do.

‘’Denlon.’’

‘’Hoffman.’'

‘’Are you well?’’

‘’Yes. Busy day at work. How about you?’’

‘’I had a busy day too.’’

‘’Hmm.’’

‘’Hmm.’’

The two nodded at each other, and walked to their respective front doors.

‘’Hey, honey,’’ said Amanda as she heard the door open. ‘’You good?’’

‘’Yeah. Work was fine. Saw Mark in the lobby. He was chatty today.’’

. . .

break from tradition

Amanda’s fist faltered only once before she knocked on William’s door. He opened it and his face lit up.

‘’Amanda!’’

‘’Hi, William. I thought I’d come round. Is that okay?’’

‘’Certainly, certainly. Please come in. I’ll make tea.’’

‘’Coffee, please.’’

‘’Coffee, of course.’’

William’s flat was very prim and neatly decorated. A large aquarium sat in the landing, with medical books and biographies of philanthropists lined up on either side. She considered that perhaps the fish were reading them.

‘’So, to what do I owe this visit?’’ he asked, then smiled at his own awkwardness

‘’Well, you’re always inviting me, and I’m always saying I will…’’

‘’Indeed. I had begun to factor it into my morning routine. I’m glad you realised it wasn’t merely a formality.’’

Amanda sat down and stretched. ‘’How come I feel so comfortable talking to you, when you’re a suit? You look like a cop.’’

William looked at her expectantly.

‘’…no offence.’’

‘’Thank you. I don’t know, Amanda. Maybe it’s because I’m no lon- I’m not your run-of-the-mill businessman. I feel happiest when I’m helping people.’’

‘’I’m not a charity case.’’

‘’When did I say that? You’re not at all. You’re my friend.’’

It was strange, Amanda thought. Everything he was saying was certainly kind and genuine, yet he had never lost the business tinge that made all his words sound ever so... polished.

‘’Some leaflets about overcoming drug abuse came through my letterbox yesterday.’’

‘’Oh?’’

‘’Well, I didn’t appreciate it.’’

William frowned. ‘’I didn’t do it. I didn’t even know you had a drug problem.’’

‘’I don’t!’’ Amanda snapped, coffee almost spilling out of her mug as she jerked forward. William raised a hand gently until she sat back down. ‘’I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s a very sensitive subject for me. Now I feel like an idiot for telling you when you didn’t even know. I just-‘’

She put the mug down on William’s glass coffee table and wiped her eyes aggressively. William winced at the fact Amanda hadn’t used a coaster and quickly slid one under the mug while she wasn’t looking, then gingerly went to sit beside her.

‘’It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything more. I’ve worked with a lot of people in my time dealing with addiction and I know it’s not pretty or easy.’’

‘’But I’m over it!’’ Amanda cried, her face twisting up as she sobbed. ‘’I’m not an addict anymore and someone thinks they can try and fucking help me by shoving these leaflets through my door- ach!’’

She sighed into her hands and didn’t push him away when William put his arm around her. He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do- words like lawsuit and formality passed through his mind- but as she ever so slightly leaned into him, he relaxed.

They sat together in silence for some time, until Amanda felt that William had really listened and understood, and William felt that he was right to think of Amanda as a friend.

. . .

detective work

William, if he had time, often tried to tidy up the lobby before he left for work each morning. On one such day, he was picking up some scrap paper and laid eyes on a leaflet about drug abuse. It was sat squarely by all the other piles of crap that John liked to leave lying about, containing, but not limited to: engineering magazines, handmade drawings of dolls, cut-outs of agony aunt columns tackling loneliness, and about fifteen self-help books. William stared at it for some time. He picked it up and, looking around to make sure there were no others, ripped it up. Better not to let Amanda have a fight with her own landlord, he reasoned. He’d find his own way to exact revenge.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a load of fun shoving as many references to the films in this as I possibly could
> 
> also I love William and I wanted to give him the redemption he deserves


End file.
